Tagged: Audrey Frank

for sw happy anniversary Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.  Ecclesiastes 4:12   Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”  Matthew 19:4-6 From a cultural perspective, Mary and Joseph's marriage was doomed. Christmas came square into the middle of a society that weighed life on the scales of honor and shame. Every decision and every behavior was measured against… Read More

I am a witness to the story I tell today. It is sure and true. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”  And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. Revelation 5:5,9 There is a movement happening this Christmas across sand-swept deserts and barren basins of land long scarred by tribal conflict. Village elders are embracing Jesus. Skeptic women are surrendering to His… Read More

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. Isaiah 11:1 I named him Oliver, and he was the cutest olive tree I’d ever seen. Sitting brave in his hand-hewn pot right in the middle of the village market, he seemed to be expecting me. I bought him immediately and took him home to live on my terrace.  Day after day, I tended him. I read books about how to care for him; I carefully placed him in the optimal spot for sun. I watered him just the right amount. In winter I brought him inside, and he only complained slightly by dropping a few leaves. Spring came again, and he grew taller. I… Read More

The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’”  Joshua 3:7-8 Sometimes God commands us to stand still in the water so people can pass through. Intercessory prayer is one way we do that. Intercessory prayer is an act of leadership.  The work of intercession is like standing still in the water, bearing up the presence of the Lord and His covenant so the people can pass from… Read More

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7 Waiting patiently is hard, especially when we can’t see what’s happening. Farmers know something about this. My daily walk takes me through a valley of farms. Tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, squash, strawberries, grapes, and potatoes all grow in their seasons. One garden will be lush and green, while mere yards away, a plot lies plowed and ready for new seed. Yet another garden just beyond stands at attention, its earthen rows tidy and straight, planted, yet no sign of growth. My neighbors know how to make the most of the earth God has given them in all seasons.  But there is one thing hidden from the farmer and from us. Something he or she… Read More

Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”  John 21:18 Sometimes we are carried where we do not want to go.  No one wants to lose a child. No one wants to be let go from a job just before retirement. No one wants to discover a spouse is addicted to pornography. No one wants to be forced out of home and… Read More

Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand…  Proverbs 8:1-4, NIV There is a towering hill in our village, and those willing to make the climb will reach the highest point where three roads meet. Each road spills recklessly over the ridge in a different direction, but on that small summit, they are level for a while, joined as one. I often walk there with my dog and today as I crested the heights, the words of Proverbs 8 1-4 resonated in my AirPods as I listened to the Dwell Bible app. At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand…… Read More

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. Lamentations 3:22 Compassion is directly connected to power. Our human power has limits. For some, compassion can morph into workaholism and exhaustion. Others, looking at the widespread trauma in the world today, feel powerless to help at all. Then compassion becomes despair. Despair becomes avoidance, even as the needs of the world grow greater. There is a compassion that never fails, and it is powered by limitless love. I don’t know about you, dear reader, but my compassion has limits because my love has limits. Does yours? I didn’t want my love to have limits. I once thought I could love endlessly. It took a mere six months among a… Read More

  Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. Ecclesiastes 9:10   Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord. Colossians 3:23   As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. John 9:4 We can be immobilized or mobilized by today’s headlines of war and trauma in the world. Jesus had no paper to read, no text messages barraging His phone, no phone! He had no widescreen, thin screen, folding screen to flash the latest deaths of innocent people across His consciousness, ruining His day. He carried it all, every single war, every innocent child killed, every weeping… Read More

The Good Shepherd Mosaic from Galla Placidia, Ravenna, Italy But you, Oh Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. Psalm 3:3 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 Little sheep, can you feel the strength in the Good Shepherd’s hand? He holds your head up, though you want to hang it low and weep. His gentle firmness keeps your face fixed on His, though fear bids you look away. Little sheep, though His eyes do not look upon you right now, His heart is set upon you. See how He turns to you,… Read More